


100

by EonAO3



Category: Bucky Barnes - Fandom, Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: 100 Years, Birthday Party, Bucky Barnes 100th birthday, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Content Bucky Barnes, Domestic Avengers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, happy birthday bucky barnes, he deserves this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 08:14:50
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10213334
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EonAO3/pseuds/EonAO3





	

It was all low key enough. No balloons or banners. There hadn't been any singing, but there was a rich dinner and laughter. He may not have enjoyed it any other way. He was still acclimating himself to life with the team, and, a tongue in cheek "hundredth" birthday or not, he was still trying to accept that he was worthy of any of the attention at all. But no matter how big and strong Steve was, he couldn't keep Pepper from insisting on a cake.

Bucky was perpetually surprised by how warm the company could be. He was mindful of how delicate new friendships were, especially after one had a history of trying to kill friends when they were strangers. Stark was a hard sell, but Bucky expected nothing less. He kept his distance most times. Even the shortest conversation of necessity felt forced, when no one else was around, but things seemed to be slowly settling between them. Barton was easy enough to get a long with. The way Bucky saw it, he didn't think Barton could hate anyone.

He couldn't fault Natasha and Sam for taking awhile to warm up to him, because obviously, attempted murder. He was possibly most grateful for their efforts than anyone's to move on and accept him for the love of Steve. There was a certain simpatico he enjoyed with the redhead. There was a growing respect now between him and Wilson, peppered with lighthearted insults and jabs at the other's expense to remind them both the other was still on his toes. 

With the exception of Steve, he got along best with Lang and Pepper. Both of them were incredibly welcoming, neither asking many questions and managing to somehow always be nearby without being intrusive, drawing him into small talk and coaxing him into interacting with the others without his even realizing it had happened. The same could mostly be said for the Colonel, despite his own problems. Bucky admired him for his strength, in every sense of the word.

The Sokovian was intriguing. He had only known people enhanced by Erskine's serum and its later versions. Wanda and her powers would have been downright terrifying, if she hadn't literally taken his hand to beg him along to walk with her around the compound on the first sunny day after his arrival from Wakanda. Something about just being in the same room as her put him at ease. After Wanda, the Asgardian, who could fly and came and went through a portal in the sky, and the scientist turned hulk weren't all that impressive. Vision did fascinate him though and, despite his best efforts, he sometimes found himself watching the sweater-clad being, marveling at the living embodiment of the sci-fi magazines he used to read before the war.

Tonight, his eyes panning over the misfit collection of people dotted around the couches and chairs, Bucky was struck by a new sense of comfort. Maybe he didn't have a permanent address, moving between the upstate New York compound and a room at Avengers Tower as needed, but he was beginning to feel like he was home again. It was something he thought he had been forced to give up a lifetime ago, and he was afraid he'd never find again. But here he was, surrounded by the sound of happiness, as everyone heartily laughed at the punchline of Clint's joke, and the noise pulled a grin across his lips. He leaned his forearms onto the counter, content to watch from the side of the room, as the evening wound down and forks rested on empty dessert plates.


End file.
